


Clearing Tables

by ChubRub



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Belly Kink, Everyone Is Alive, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, Stuffing, Weight Gain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-07 15:11:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5460935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChubRub/pseuds/ChubRub
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eggsy likes his men like he likes his whiskey- twice his age and from Scotland. Merlin likes his men like he likes his wine- soft, round and sweet. Eggsy sees a challenge, and he’s never backed down from a challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Literally this entire thing is inspired by a post on tumblr. I really wish I could find it. The 'twice my age and Scottish' line was there and obviously it made me think of Merlin. I then spent about 15-30 minutes figuring out how to make the line apply to fat boys.

When Eggsy looks back on it, it started as a challenge. He always thrived well under adversity. That was definitely a part of it. It was perhaps their second week of their testing when he made a sly comment to Roxy. He couldn’t remember it now. Something about how Merlin had a sexy, prudish air about him, and how you know someone who is that much of a toff was probably into some kinky, crazy shit when the lights went off. Roxy huffed dismissively and rolled her eyes.

“As if you’d find out.”

“Bet I could.” Eggsy had shot back without missing a beat.

“He’s twice your age, a Kingsman,” Roxy started to insist. For a moment, it seemed to come from a place of pure respect, but then she smirked a bit and glanced over her shoulder as if Merlin could appear in their barracks at any moment. “And a bit of a prude.”

Eggsy laughed.

“That’s what I’m sayin’.” he insisted. “All posh n’ shit. Clearly repressed. It’s gotta come out somewhere.”

“Well he’s not going to come anywhere near you.” Roxy said, shaking her head. Eggsy smirked at her, and when she realized her unfortunate word choice her cheeks reddened and she rolled off of her elbows and turned away from him.

“That a challenge?” He asked, blatantly ignoring the fact that she clearly wanted to end the awkward conversation.

“No.” Roxy said, sitting up and pointing a finger at him. “No it is not and don’t you dare tell anyone I’m somehow responsible for your dumb choices.”

So, in short, it was really all Roxy’s fault.

. . .

Despite doing his best moving forward, the training was arduous and he was kept too busy to unleash **all** of his flirting techniques on Merlin. Every so often there would be a cheeky line, or a suggestive look, but they were never reciprocated. It was like the Scottish man was wearing metal armor. It didn’t phase him at all.

In his heart, Eggsy never stopped planning to move things forward. The only thing that changed once he became a full-fledged Kingsman was his investment.

At first he was just looking for a quick fling. Eggsy had always had a ‘thing’ for older men (which he often refused to look too deeply into, despite his fathers death at such an early age probably having something to do with it), so his eyes had already been feasting on most of the older members of the Kingsman, but Merlin stood out. His strong jaw, the sexy accent, the way his sweater managed to hide his body just enough to get his imagination running.

Hell, Eggsy had never considered how attractive a bald head could be, theoretically, until he kept staring at the back of Merlin’s.

After things settled down- which took some time, admittedly- Eggsy started again. He found excuses to seek out Merlin. He tried being less cheeky and more on-the-nose. After all, maybe Merlin thought a compliment on the shape of his ass was a joke, not a come-on. He started to flirt. Casual, low-key.

That didn’t work, either.

He was close to calling it quits. For a week or so, he’d decided that is what he would do. That was when he realized he couldn’t stop thinking about Merlin without putting conscious effort into it.

It wasn’t just a challenge anymore, but in a way it was even more of one.

So he did the only thing he could think to do. He took out Harry.

Even though the Kingsman had the best doctors on staff, Harry was no longer on active duty. Rather than retiring (which was promptly put down the second it was suggested), he was now working as Arthur. It was a surprising turn of events, but Eggsy had talked to every member of the order. After all, the last Arthur had been a royal wanker, and also old as shit, so it wasn't as if he had been working the field. 

Currently Harry's motor controls were shaky, and even a year later he had trouble grasping utensils at times, but thankfully his memory and personality were unaffected. And because his personality was unaffected, he recognized that Eggsy had ulterior motives long before arriving at the pub. As Eggsy was going on about how good the chips at this place were and passing Harry the folder, the other man kept his expression neutral.

“What are we doing here, Eggsy?” he asked.

“Can’t a fellah take his buddy out for a drink and some chips?” Eggsy shot back, only slightly annoyed that the ex-Kingsman could read him so well. “We go out all the time!”

“Whenever we make plans with one another, we give each other at least a weeks notice. You asked me to come tonight. There is a sense of urgency to it.” he surmised, maintaining eye contact but taking the menu regardless. “So I will ask again, what are we doing here?”

Eggsy sighed and rolled his neck and shoulders.

“Let’s order the drinks first, a’ight?” he insisted. Harry looked a bit taken aback, but agreed.

Once Eggsy had a few sips of scotch in him, he met Harry’s eyes once more.

“Okay.” he started, then realized he didn’t know where to go from there. After a few moments of expectant silence, he managed to continue. “So Merlin ain’t got, like… a boyfriend or noffin’, does ‘e?”

There were times when Eggsy’s accent seemed to come on a bit thicker. He never tried to actively lose it (in fact, there were times in Kingsman meetings when he would close his eyes and promised himself he never would let himself), but when he was feeling more emotional it grew more prominent. Right now, he was feeling a touch vulnerable.

“Why are you asking me that question? Or better yet, why are you asking such a question at all?” Harry asked, sitting up a bit straighter.

“Why not just answer?” Eggsy asked. “It can’t be a girlfriend… yeah?”

Harry let out a long-suffering sigh as his concerns were proven to be valid, and he shook his head.

“No girlfriend.” he agreed. He looked up to see Eggsy’s pressing expression and rolled his eyes before continuing. “No boyfriend, either, though both are equally as likely.”

Eggsy couldn’t hide his grin.

“Would you also like to ask his age, Eggsy? Or about the Kingsmans’ guidelines regarding inter-organization romance?” He asked pointedly.

“Ah, already checked both.” Eggsy snarkily replied. “An’ there ain’t nothin’ in the book about two Kingsman havin’ it off.”

Mostly because at the time the ‘book’ was written, there were no female Kingsman and homosexual relationships were frowned upon, but that wasn’t the point.

“No, but the Kingsman organization has rules beyond those written in outdated texts, did you happen upon those in your research?”

“Must’ve missed it.”

“Eggsy.”

The younger man shrugged and sat back in his seat with his usual confidence returned.

“So, you ever met one of his old flames?” he asked. “What were they like?”

“His own age.” Harry said, his voice slow, careful, and only slightly dangerous. Eggsy didn’t blame him. In Harry’s mind, he probably was trying to protect not one but two of his closest friends.

“Aren’t gonna get over that one anytime soon, are yah?”

“I think it is a point that should be discussed.”

“Fine, if you insist.” Eggsy said. “Lets see… I think the first one was my history teacher. Eighth grade? He just had a sprig of grey, right up around ‘is temples, but his arse was still _really_ tight for 'is age--”

“Enough.” Harry raised a hand. “Point made, but it is not appropriate. No more so for Merlin than for you you.”

"We're both adults."

"One more than the other. In age _and_ maturity."

Eggsy made a face in lieu of a real response. They both took sips of their respective drinks before moving on.

“Come on. Give us a li’le hint.” Eggsy pressed, leaning forward onto his elbows.

Harry seemed to consider for a moment, and the his brows raised and he nodded as if he was giving up. Eggsy knew he'd be able to wear him down, though he thought it would take a few more drinks.

“Fine.” he said. “My hint would be that you do not have a chance.”

Eggsy’s brows furrowed and his confidence faltered just slightly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

Harry smiled.

“I have met several of Merlin’s past lovers, Eggsy.” he said softly. “And I will tell you, they all- men and women alike- had one thing in common. Something you lack.”

Harry leaned forward, and Eggsy mirrored the movement. Once they were close, Harry’s eyes moved to Eggsy’s torso, almost pointedly, and he whispered the ‘secret’.

“I’d say about… thirty pounds, minimum.”

He leaned back, looking quite smug, and Eggsy followed. He was dazed. Once his brain caught up, he let out a half-laugh.

“No fuckin’ way.”

“Language.”

“Seriously, though.” Eggsy continued. “Merlin’s a chub chaser? You’ve go’a be messin’ wit me.”

Harry shook his head.

“Merlin is an exceedingly private person, Eggsy. His… preferences have nothing at all to do with that, but I know he would not approve of me exposing it.” he said. “I am only telling you this to dissuade you from continuing your advances.”

Eggsy tilted his head in contemplation and then shrugged, which led to another sigh from the older man.  

Eventually, they did move away from the subject of Merlin and whatever fetishes he might have. They spoke of work, mostly, but also a bit of one another’s personal lives.

Though he stayed silent, Harry gave a very pointed look when Eggsy ordered two more servings of chips.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like, 36 people had clicked on the first chapter before I decided to change Harry from research department to being Arthur. I was tired when I wrote it, and it was legitimately something I thought to change at maybe 4AM? So if you're surprised by that, it's cause I was thoughtless when I first posted. Sorry!

So then came another challenge, which suited Eggsy just fine. At least this one had a goal. Thirty pounds didn’t sound like a lot. Beefy, maybe, but he’d be able to do his job just fine. Bit of a tum, nothing too extreme.

He’d also done some research, and he suspected he had the upper hand. It seemed like a lot of the people attracted to larger frames had a certain affection to thin guys and gals ‘fattening up’. Something about watching them grow. Eggsy avoided the porn with real people ‘performing’ for the time being, he’d never been a huge fan of that stuff, but there was quite a lot of written material that he decided it would be okay to read.

He may have gotten half-hard reading some of the stories himself. Much like his attraction to older men, he didn’t question it and finished what the website started instead. Then he ate two boxes worth of mac and cheese and went to sleep.

Time revealed one major problem with his plan: Gaining weight was not _nearly_ as easy as he thought it would be. As one of the Kingsman on the field, he had to stay in shape, which meant plenty of exercise would make things more difficult. He knew that going in, but he also knew that there were other knights who had trouble keeping weight off even _with_ their rigorous training. They didn’t have Eggsy’s metabolism on their side.

For about a month straight Eggsy went to sleep as full as possible. He would order in pizza or grab fast food, anything he could to fill up every inch of space in his stomach. Every night he would go to bed, his pale gut expanded into a round tub, only to find the next morning that he was no worse for wear. Sometimes a little sluggish, sure, but he didn’t see any effect on his body. He even started weighing himself. He managed to gain just about six pounds, and it didn’t seem to show at all on his physique.

“You know if you complained about this ‘problem’ to most people they’d sock you, right?” Roxy asked one day as he bemoaned his frustrations over lunch. “Like, right in the nose.”

Eggsy shrugged and sat back. He’d finished off two burgers from the steakhouse they’d stopped at, along with half of Roxy’s fries. Unlike Harry, Roxy hardly ever tried to talk him out of his stupid decisions. Her line of thinking was that Eggsy would have to learn his lessons on his own, though he rarely seemed to.

“Even if you did actually gain weight, what do you think will happen? Merlin will just forget about your age, or the fact that you’re a Kingsman?” she asked.

“Maybe tha’ll make it even better.” Eggsy pointed out, offering a little wink. Roxy rolled her eyes. “But right now it’s not workin’ anyway. I’ve been eatin’ like a starving dog and none of it sticks.”

“Again, right in the nose.” Roxy quipped. She brought up one hand in a faux-punching motion, as if to demonstrate.

“It really blows!” Eggsy insisted. “Yesterday I couldn’t even get to bed, I fell asleep in my fuckin’ chair.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Large pizza, mozzarella sticks _and_ garlic bread.” he said.

“Don’t sound so proud!” Roxy demanded, looking over her shoulder, checking to make sure people weren’t listening as if she was the one saying embarrassing things. Eggsy was unaffected. “Besides, six pounds in a month is nothing to scoff at.”

“But you can’t tell.” Eggsy bemoaned, sitting up straighter and turning to the side to give Roxy his profile. “Can yah?”

Roxy studied for a moment, and then shook her head.

“Nope.” she said honestly, popping the ‘p’. “But you’re not going to go from abs to a gut in four weeks. And you shouldn’t.”

“I’ve been eating nothing but scrummy food.” Eggsy said, leaning on his elbows again on the table. “It’s not fair. Gareth eats nothing but salads and he has to wear a corset.”

“It’s a girdle.” Roxy corrected.

“Not the point.”

Before they could continue the conversation their meals were brought. Roxy’s shepherds pie looked reasonable enough, but Eggsy’s double serving of spaghetti bolognese only punctuated how hard he was trying to gain weight, the food practically spilling over the edges of a fairly large plate. Roxy eyed it pointedly, but Eggsy only shrugged.

They ate in silence for a bit, both rather hungry after a busy day of chasing various leads. Nothing horrid, but they had to keep an eye on things constantly. Nine times out of ten, there were no actual threats. Of course, the one time there was an issue… It usually meant they would be busy.

“Ok Eggsy, tell the truth.” Roxy finally said. She’d finished half of her meal, and impressively so had Eggsy. “This isn’t just about a fling anymore, is it?”

Eggsy peeked up, eyes a bit wide and vulnerable. He wasn’t the best liar. Not to his friends. For his job he found he was a natural thespian, but once he trusted someone, it was much harder to hide the truth. Usually, he didn’t bother trying. He stuffed a bit bite in his mouth and shrugged.

“Dunno whatcha talkin’ about.” he claimed as he swallowed, immediately shoving in another too-large bite. Roxy sighed.

“You’re a good-looking guy, you could go to a club and pick up just about anyone. I’ve _seen_ you do that.” she said. “What’s so special about Merlin that you’re putting yourself through all of this?”

Eggsy couldn’t answer right off the bat, considering his cheeks were stuffed with spaghetti, but after he did swallow the bite he set his fork down. He looked like he wanted to say something, but words failed him.

“You really like him, don’t you?” Roxy asked, managing to sound both concerned as accusatory in her very special Roxy way.

There was a silence, and Eggsy glanced to the side, out the nearby window. He wasn’t checking if they were watched, or anything like that. Instead it seemed like he was looking for a distraction.

“Eggsy.” Roxy commanded. “Come on. Own up.”

“‘e’s… a’ight.” Eggsy said, still looking anywhere but directly at Roxy. “Calm under pressure. Nice. Funny.”

“So that’s a yes.” Roxy confirmed. Eggsy just nodded. “But instead of just talking to him, you’re going to keep this up until he notices you?”

“Thas the plan.” Eggsy grinned.

Roxy rolled her eyes, but didn’t seem to press it anymore. She let the subject drop, and stayed for the extra fifteen minutes it too for Eggsy to finish off his serving and didn’t even chastise him for grabbing a roll afterwards. (Though that was mostly to settle his bubbling stomach). When they stood up her eyes scanned his body and she shook her head.

“You can see it now.” she relented to tell him, which made Eggsy smirk.

“Thanks.” he said, running his hand down his sport coat to flatten it against his stomach. It was rounded out, as it always seemed to be after a big meal, but he knew it would be gone soon enough.  “Now I just have to figure out how to keep it like this.”

. . .

The answer to Eggsy’s troubles came in an unconventional and unfortunate series of events. One out of ten of their investigations turned something up, and Eggsy stumbled onto one of them. A terrorist threat, a group of extremists planting bombs in the underground. The usual. He was prepared for all of that. What he wasn’t prepared for was a young girl. The daughter of one of the monsters. They had brought her just to use as a bargaining chip, she was only three years old.

He got her out, but took a bullet to his femur. It was a very serious wound, and Eggsy was certain that he was about to die. The bone had shattered, and he was losing blood fast. He only made it out because Merlin sent a team to get him. Because of course it was Merlin. Eggsy had to admit, that part was rather humiliating given his current crush, but he would take the help over death.

The surgery took 18 hours. One thick steel rod with assorted pins and rings elsewhere. The rod, he was told, would stay for the rest of his life, but his leg would be stronger for it for the most part (that was a Kingsman perk).

He received the best care, the same doctors who had treated Harry. He was assured he would make a full recovery due to his age and level of care he was receiving, but his immediate prognosis predicted he would be bed-bound for 12 weeks. 5 of those would be a stay in the Kingsman hospital before he could go home. After that came a wheelchair for 3, then crutches and PT until he could walk again. He was warned after that he might actually rely on his cane for walking rather than just defence, but assured that it wouldn’t be permanent.

Worse than the leg were the lectures. Most of them came from Harry, but a few from Roxy as well… And one from Merlin. All were along the same lines. Stupid for getting emotionally invested, stupid for putting himself on the line, stupid for dropping his umbrella to grab the child. He was used to it, and each time he only asked back if the kid had lived. She had, and that was all he needed to support his case.

There was a bright side, of course, that Eggsy figured out quickly. He would be able to pack on some pounds, probably, being bed-bound.

“No I will _not_ bring you pizza!” Roxy hissed at him when he first requested it, shaking her head. “Don’t you think it’s time to give up on that whole thing? At least until you’re better?”

“Why would I wait when this is the perfect opportunity?” Eggsy asked. He offered his most charming smile, but Roxy was immune. “Come on. I’m gonna be laid up for three months, at least. Lemme ‘ave a bit of fun?”

Roxy looked stern and then moved over to close the door that led to the rest of the hospital. It was a small place, attached to the science departments that the Kingsman funded. They were deep underground, so getting any food he wasn’t ‘meant’ to have was difficult.

To be fair, the food wasn’t bad. It was far from hospital food, but it was all way fancier than what Eggsy preferred. Also, much smaller than the portions he was aiming for at the moment.

“If I don’t, you’ll just charm your doctor or one of the nurses into doing it, won’t you?” she accused. Eggsy nodded without the slightest hint of hesitation or shame. “Fine.”

Of course, Roxy refused to bring huge portions, so Eggsy was forced to charm the nurses and doctors anyhow. It was fun anyway. He would get one meal from Roxy a day, and usually one or two from the people who were helping him at the hospital, and then also the three hospital meals… It was nice. And productive.

It started to stick. By the time he left the hospital five weeks later, the doctor noted that he’d gained more than ten pounds- double what he’d gained before the bullet. He instructed Eggsy to diet, which the young man pretended to pay attention to. To be honest, he still didn’t feel like it was ‘sticking’. His stomach felt a might softer, but he could still see his abs. Maybe not _as_ distinct but still ever much _there_.

It wasn’t until he was given the go-ahead to change from the gown he was kept in to his regular clothes that it clicked to him. Maybe five pounds wasn’t much. Maybe even ten wasn’t. However, a collective fifteen led to his tailored bottoms fitting like a vice around his middle. He had to button up his sport coat to ‘hide’ the issue, but it did very little to stop both Harry and Roxy from giving him a pointed look as they helped him load himself and his wheelchair into the car.

“Finally sticking, eh?” Roxy teased as she helped him hop into the car.

“You think?” Eggsy asked with a laugh.

“Won’t be able to lift you if you keep it up. Idiot.”

She added the last part with a chuckle before closing the door. Once they made it to his home he got it from Harry, though. He was able to roll his own chair inside, but Harry insisted on coming in. He knew it was going to be bad when he also insisted Roxy stay in the car.

“You are taking this too far.” he warned as he opened the front door for Eggsy. He sounded serious, which was mildly frightening. From the tone alone, Eggsy knew he wasn’t going to flirt or cheek his way out of this conversation.

“It’s not a big deal.” Eggsy claimed, skipping right over pretending to not know what Harry was talking about. No point, and it would just make it worse anyway.

“You are spilling out of your clothes, Eggsy.” Harry said, rolling his eyes. “How much have you gained already?”

For the first time, Eggsy felt a bit self-conscious, bringing his hand to his stomach. Sitting like this… well, it didn’t help matters much. Even his coat couldn’t hide the muffin-top. It was small, but because his clothes had been cut so immaculately, it was difficult to hide when they no longer _quite_ fit.

“So there a li’le tight. It ain’t the end of the world.” he claimed.

“I wouldn’t say anything if I thought it were an accident, but I know what you are planning.” Harry continued, following Eggsy as the boy rolled into the living room. “I take responsibility, I should not have goaded you…”

“Nah.” Eggsy shrugged. “I would’ve found out with enough snoopin’ anyhow.”

If Harry received a nickel every time something Eggsy said made him sigh long and hard, he would be able to fund the Kingsman from his own pocket.

“Look, gov, I get you’re worried but cut it out.” Eggsy insisted, leaning back in his chair more for comfort than anything else. He really needed to change, but he’d sort that out once Harry was out of his hair. “We went over this, yah? I _am_ an adult.”

“An adult who often does not think through his decisions, causing him to nearly bleed out on the field.” Harry pointed out, standing in the corner of the living room. Eggsy looked about to respond to the snarky comment when he held up a quieting hand. “I can hardly control anything you chose to do, much less how much you decide to eat. I accept that. I just hope that you don’t let yourself get too carried away.”

Eggsy didn’t like how genuine Harry sounded in that moment and chose to adjust his position in his chair rather than respond.

“I would also like to add that if Merlin found out you risked your health or Kingsmanship for him, he would not be enamored. He would be rightfully upset with you.”

At that, Eggsy looked over and met Harry’s eyes. That was about as close to a ‘blessing’ as he would imagine he would get from the man.

“I’ll be careful.” Eggsy promised. “An’ I’ll get new clothes soon enough.”

Harry’s eyebrows rose up a bit and he looked mildly amused at the thought, and Eggsy wondered just how foolish he actually currently looked. As Harry was about to leave, he called out.

“Did he ask about me at all? When I was laid up?” he asked.

Harry hesitated at the door, and then nodded.

“Every day, of course.” he admitted. There was another beat, and then he sighed. “I’ll see what work I can find for you for the next few months. It wouldn’t hurt to have another person around to help research.”

He headed out after that, and Eggsy grinned. Every day in the same building as Merlin, with an excuse? That sounded just fine to him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, I’ll be real here. I’m bad at writing Merlin. Or at least I fear I will be. I love him, he’s legitimately my favorite character, but something about him alludes me. The reason there is such a long time between chapters right now is I’m, for lack of a better word, ‘researching’. I’m reading a lot of fanfic with Merlin in it and hoping some of it will stick. If you know any good fanfiction featuring him (preferably in a developing relationship/getting hit on? There are tons that start with an established relationship but I’m having a hard time thinking of how he would react to Eggsy’s flirting, which will be non-stop), please tell me in the comments so I can check it out. :) 
> 
> Until then, here’s a chapter to tide ya'll over.

Once Harry had finally cleared out, Eggsy found himself curious. His clothes felt tight, but he hadn’t had a chance to fully identify the changes in his body yet. He’d been locked up in hospital for five weeks in a gown, laid up so he hardly moved, constantly surrounded by nurses and doctors, so he hadn’t exactly had the opportunity to notice, let alone explore, the gain. Though the down time had definitely helped add to it.

He was going to have to make use of his downstairs bedroom (his home was much too big, but at the time he’d just been excited to have a place that wasn’t a run-down hellhole), but Roxanne and Harry had already moved his clothes for him. He noticed when he rolled in that one of them had also brought down the pillows from his bed. He couldn’t guess which it was, since they both had a habit of noticing small details and being shockingly considerate.

On a related note, he also found a pair of sweatpants he didn’t recognize, because he no longer _owned_ sweatpants. Those would come in handy, and that would definitely be Roxy’s doing.

 _Nice._ he thought, pulling them from the dresser. The doctor actually told him to wear loose clothes as much as possible because he insisted on dressing alone. _If he’d seen me put the pair I’m wearing on he would have thrown a fit._

He moved himself onto his bed with minimal difficulty. It was only his right leg that was injured, so he was able to move around alright. He removed his sport coat and then reached down for his button, looking down to see a considerable muffin-top puffing up his undershirt. Not enough to stretch the shirt buttons, but his pants were near-bursting. He brought his hand to the bulge under the thick white fabric of his shirt, having a hard time believing that was _him_.

He laid back on his bed to make unfastening his slacks easier, and pulled them off of his legs. Without the vice around his waist it wasn’t nearly as obvious, his shirt was loose enough to hide the damage still. Perfectly tailored allowed for an inch or two unless he leaned forward. He pulled that off and sat on his bed in just his boxers, taking stock of the “damage”.

Fat wasn’t the right word, not by a long shot. More… fleshy. Or at least flesh _ier_. Lying on his back his stomach was still flat, but he was thicker. On the sides, just a bit. His abs, which were never cut like steel but always visible from training, were obscured. He tested with a finger, digging it into the lower part of his stomach. The skin yielded against the tip of his finger, and it sunk in.

Eggsy expected the swell of pride seeing his hard work paying off. What he didn’t expect was the swell in his… well.

He was a pretty fluid guy when it came to kinks, he knew that going in. He’d experimented in a _lot_ of stuff, but never anything like this. This was more permanent. No one would know the next day if he had whip marks on his back, or took part in some weird roleplay the night before. He’d never had to have a serious talk with one of his best friends about that stuff.

He set his hand on his stomach, wondering when he would see Merlin next. If Harry was telling the truth (which he most definitely was, or he would have told the truth once he saw how far Eggsy would go to rise to a challenge) he would definitely get some sort of reaction.

He touched his stomach, trying to get used to the growth there. It was all new to him. He’d grown up poor, which meant less food, so he’d always been lanky. He’d never had this sort of softness anywhere on him. His fingers moved back and forth across the slight bulge, cupping it, patting it. Eventually, he managed to pull away.

“Right. 'nough of that.” he said out loud to himself. He needed the verbal affirmation, needed to force himself to sit up or he’d be touching it all day. It was all super surreal.

He managed to change into the sweatpants and a loose shirt, and then put himself back in his chair. He knew that any of his coworkers could have done so just as gracefully, but he still felt rather smug about it.

He heard his phone ring and had to reach down for his jeans to fish them out. A text from Roxy.

_“Harry is having a field day. It’s kind of hilarious.”_

Eggsy smirked.

_“Oh yeah?”_

He set the phone between his legs and started into the kitchen. He noticed that all of the food was on the counter, at least all of the best foods. As soon as he was anywhere near the food dish he heard JB’s nails patting on the porcelain floor.

“Finally comin’ out to say hello, bruv?” he teased, watching the dog shake it’s entire backside to make up for his stubby little tail. His eyes were fixed on the bag of dry food on the counter, of course. “Missed yah, too.”

He filled up the bowl after a bit of whimpering and begging on JB’s part, rewarded with feverous licking at his fingers once they were close to the floor. His phone rang and he took a peak.

_“He keeps avoiding the word ‘fat’. Like he can’t say it. He just starts stammering the beginning of a bunch of different euphemisms for it.”_

Eggsy huffed out a half-laugh and typed up his response.

_“How red is his face when he tries? Scale of 1-10.”_

He fetched a bag of crisps and went back to the living room, flipping over into the couch with ease. Within a few moments he received a response.

_“At least an eight.”_

JB had finished eating now, and ran over to the couch. He was too short to reach, which was both pathetic and adorable, but he tried his best to hop up anyway. Eggsy rolled his eyes and reached down to help him up.

“Stay off the legs, kay bud?” he lectured, as if the dumb dog could actually understand him.

It didn’t seem to be a problem, because the pug settled on Eggsy’s stomach and curled up, panting at Eggsy. Once the dog seemed settled he texted back.

_“He’ll get used to it. I am.”_

He pet JB with one hand and dug into the bag of crisps with the other, settling back for the night. He hadn’t been this comfortable for awhile. It was nice to just stay in.

. . .

He continued the way he was for the rest of the night. Texting Roxy, eating snacks, and watching television. He found a channel that just played old black and white movies and mostly stuck to that. It was near night time when he got a new message- this one not from Roxy. In small black pixelated letters, he read “Merlin”.

_“How are you feeling, lad?”_

Eggsy wasn’t rendered completely incompetent at the very hint of attention from Merlin, but he did feel his cheeks heat up, just a bit. Merlin was the type to check in, of course. This wasn’t special, but it was still nice.

 _“Much better now that I’m home.”_ Eggsy responded. _“Arthur is thinking he’s gonna have me work on your end for awhile. Until I’m back on the field.”_

There was a long pause between responses, which wasn’t rare. Merlin, as far as Eggsy knew, hardly ever took time off. He was probably working right now, only sending non-priority messages between all of his other work. In the meantime, Eggsy ordered dinner. He couldn’t well cook currently, so instead he went online and ordered pizza.

He decided to chose a large, challenge himself. He could always have the leftovers later. He was hoping there wouldn’t be any, though.

It was nearly an hour later, as he was reaching the his second slice, that the phone chimed again.

_“We can always use another set of hands around here. It might be nice, if you can behave yourself.”_

_“Never.”_

The next response came quicker than the first, but that was probably because Eggsy only responded with one word. Merlin had likely not even put his phone away yet.

_“Is there anything you need?”_

Eggsy smiled again and took a huge bite of his pizza. He knew Merlin was changing the subject, but he also knew that he was genuine with his offer.

_“I’m bored as hell, but you probably can’t fix that.”_

He set his phone aside, still chowing down on his pizza. He didn’t get another text that night. He didn’t take it personally.

He did finish off the entire large pizza, which meant that once again, he was stuck on the couch. Half-way through he had to pick up JB and set him on the ground, gut too full to take the pressure of the little dog. By the time he was done he he to push down on the rim of his sweatpants, just to avoid _any_ pressure.

He dozed off about half-way through “ _Kind Hearts and Coronets_ ”, still tasting pizza sauce on his lips.


End file.
